


Tricks of the Trade - Writing Help !

by Ms_Various



Category: Writer's Club
Genre: Advice, Other, Writer, Writer's Block, Writers, Writing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 03:20:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19287073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ms_Various/pseuds/Ms_Various
Summary: ~WARNING: THIS BOOK IS MY MAIN SOURCE FOR RANTING, I APOLOGISE.~Ever find yourself stump on a paragraph, stumbling with your grammar, or are you always thinking your story just needs something more of a... Umph! Do not fret this has been me multiple times, and this book will help you push through those troubled times.





	Tricks of the Trade - Writing Help !

Okay, everyone say it with me.

**"SAID IS DEAD."**

There are so many other words you can use other than the boring ' **said** '.

In this example, two students, a witch and a dwarf, live in a modern fantasy world, and they have stolen a powerful spell book, and plan to become world known. In this scene Jocelyn is pestering Morgan to go through with the plan, but reluctantly she agrees. This is a snippet of dialogue told.

**"C'mon, it will be fun!" Said Jocelyn. "They won't even know the spell book was gone."**

**"I** **don't know about this, Jo. Necromancy is pretty messed up." Said Morgan.**

**"Do it for the vine." Said Jocelyn, pulling out her phone and pressed record.**

Okay to me this type of wording makes me cringe. The dialogue is quite decent, but the actions... ** _NO._** Writing is about making the readers  _visualize_  the scene they are reading.  It's a beautiful art form you  _can_  master (If I can do it, anyone can). The way  _'said'_  is being repeated again and again and  _again_ , does not paint a picture in the readers mind. Descriptive words will be a lesson for another day. But how you describe the way a person has said something is a key factor of building a character (also another lesson, for another day).

Here is a correctly written one of the above.

 **"C'mon, it will be fun!" Bouncy, brown locks of hair hung from** **Morgan's** **arm, as Jocelyn pulled and swung. Her pleading voice made Morgan groan internally. "The head master** **hasn't** **even notice the spell book is missing."**

 **"I** **don't** **know about this, Jo. Necromancy is for sorcerers." Morgan grumbled under the pressure** **of her dwarven friend.**

 **Digging in the inside of her cloak, Jocelyn held her** **mobile** **scrying stone, both hers and** **Morgan's** **face mirrored in the smooth surface of the yellow crystal. "Do it for the vine."**

You see how adding just a bit more of information increases the clarity of the paint in the picture. With the correct example, we understand Morgan was feeling hesitant and slightly annoyed at her friend, and how Jocelyn was excited (somewhat naïve) about the situation, we can now tell a lot about their characters with only few bits of dialogue and action. And  _said_  wasn't written once!

Did you notice I changed the phone to a mobile scrying stone, to create more of a realistic sort of feel to the genre. Factors like that, create a more believable world. (Another lesson, for another day). But also using the famous app 'vine', it connects the modern world with the fantasy.

Another tip (told to me by a friend), you don't need to state who said what every single time. What I mean is, if you have an conversation between two characters, you don't need to say when the other speaks.

 **"So, has the package come yet?" The muffled, slightly robotic** **voice** **said urgently, over the phone.**  
**"I said in a couple of days it would be here." She sighed exasperated.**  
**"How long is a couple days?"**  
**"As soon as you stop calling me!"**

But, under some circumstances can  _said_  be used, like when you use descriptive and/or action words (like in the example above). That's is when it okay to use, but it's your responsibility to know whether to add or remove a  _said. Choose wisely._

~  
_If you want any other alternatives words for 'said', look on to my Pinterest writing board_ _ **( user: Ms Various ),**_ _or read my later chapter in this advice book._

 _If you are any bit confused on anything covered in this chapter,_ _don't_ _hesitate to leave a comment, and_ _I_ _will try my best to explain in wider detail._


End file.
